Airline merger can only help at JWA, economist says

The merger of American Airlines and US Airways sent ripples through the travel industry Thursday, but no immediate changes in local service are expected.

John Wayne Airport officials have had no discussions with either airline about possible service or route changes, said Jenny Wedge airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge.

American offers 12 daily departures from Orange County to Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. US Airways has seven daily departures to Phoenix from John Wayne, according to Liz Landaw, a US Airways spokeswoman.

Jan Brueckner, a UCI economist and expert on the airline industry, said the merger may be good news for Orange County travelers.

He said there is little likelihood American will reduce service at the airport because John Wayne limits the number of daily commercial flights, and the airline's jets already are flying full.

"As an American frequent flier, I can almost never get an upgrade out of Orange County," he said. "Having more American opportunities out of this county would be great."

Brueckner said there may be changes in US Airways' service to Phoenix, which used to be the hub for America West before those airlines merged in 2005. Phoenix also is US Airways' current headquarters.

The airlines said they would retain all of their hubs, and Landaw said there were no immediate plans for any changes in service at either carrier.

American previously reduced service in Southern California as the airline tried to cut costs.

Strugglingto compete against low-cost carriers such as Southwest, American eliminated all of its Bay Area flights from Orange County in November 2009. American withdrew from Burbank Airport last February. The airline left Long Beach Airport in April 2006.